Three office buildings known as Towers at Park Central situated in an expansive plaza space in Dallas had an existing landscape that was dated and required quite a bit of maintenance. Since the interiors were being renovated with the agenda to establish co-working spaces, Complete Landsculpture and the property managers worked together to create a sense of arrival and identity for the exterior. The main objective was to reduce the amount of paved surface and establish a relationship between the indoors and outdoors. By connecting the building and natural environment, tenants experience an expanded co-working space that maximizes the property potential.

The client's request was to revitalize the tired plaza and reshape it into a verdant, active work/ play area. By creating new exterior garden rooms, the external environment would tie in with the renovated interior co-working spaces. Safety for the tenants would also be enhanced with separate vehicular and pedestrian pathways and well-lit areas using a variety of light fixtures.

Much of the hardscape was planned to be removed to make additional garden areas. These areas helped to soften the large plaza space. Existing trees were to be preserved and the existing exotic plants were to be replaced with native plants. A serpentine wave form was incorporated into the planting design to create a sense of motion and connection between the three large gardens.

Working with Scale and Function
To create an inviting space and sense of arrival, we needed to reimagine the delineation of space in the plaza area. Studies were completed on the total area of the plaza space required for pedestrian and vehicular movement. Once this was identified, almost 30% of the paved impermeable surface was eliminated for the extra garden and seating spaces.

The location of all existing trees and demolished hardscape area was surveyed and precisely mapped into CAD. The designer then worked around the constraints to develop pathways, seating, and an updated planting plan.

By reducing the paved surface and using lightweight materials such as wood and steel for all landscape elements, the designer created a more intimate space by constructing a secondary sense of enclosure adjacent to the closed building envelope.

The team introduced pathways and cabanas with the new gardens for an immersive, biophilic co-working experience. Complete with Wi-Fi enabled spaces and modern furniture, the interactive areas are perfect for both individual and group use.

 
Cabanas were designed to be built out of sustainably harvested ash slat wood (2" x 2" thick x 12 & 16 feet long), creating a much-needed sense of place in this renewed outdoor space.

The illumination inside the cabanas consisted of trellis-mounted downlights with lamps that can be adjusted in three different planes: up-down, side-side and front-back.

Up lights, mini floods, path lights and bollards specified throughout the project are from Sterling Lighting. They ranged from 1.5 - 5 watts and 9 - 15 AC volts. Color temperatures between 2700K - 5000K were available. All are LEDs. The up lights have 1 chip, the mini floodlights have 9 and the path lights have 18. Beam spreads on the up lights, were available in 15?,??, 25?,??, 40?,?? (standard), and 60?,??.

We dotted the perimeter of the main turnaround with limestone blocks (5' long x 18" wide x 18" tall) with ash wood slat cladding to create a safety barrier between the vehicle and pedestrian paths, while also providing a comfortable seat for tenants waiting for rideshares.

Challenges and Solutions
Complete Landsculpture also oversaw the construction of the project, and safety was paramount. The project manager frequently met with the property manager to ensure the tenants were kept up to date on the weekly progress. Safety personnel deployed caution tape and red cones to manage the workflow.

The removal of the paved area was quite challenging as the depth of the existing concrete varied from 6 feet to 14 feet. Many mature trees were in play, and only conscientious, trained personnel were used to ensure no heavy equipment would encroach into the tree drip zone. Not a single tree was damaged in the process, and the mature trees added ambiance to the completed space.

Tree grates were improvised by discarding the frame and only using the decorative panel cut out to accommodate the trunk and root flares. Precise placement of the panels allowed for them to be held between the paved edge boundaries.

The irrigation system was modified to keep all existing plants irrigated during construction.

LED bollard lighting was installed in the existing paved area by core drilling for the bollard foundation and carefully cutting grooves along the expansion joints. These areas were then sealed with polymeric caulking that matched the existing paving to create a clean, complete appearance.

The manufacturer of the fixtures in the cabanas strongly recommended waterproof splice connections to prevent voltage loss and low-grade shorts. They also advised against using quick clip style connectors or pre-filled wire nuts, claiming that they are not waterproof and will rot out, creating resistance and shorts. Therefore, they recommended that their brand of splice gel be worked into the wire nuts once they are attached to the splices. The gel then sets up solid in about three days.

The project was completed in 2018. Since then it won a Gold award for the Completed Commercial Projects, 500K to 1 Million category from the National Association of Landscape Professionals in 2019 and a Merit Award in 2020 from the Texas chapter of the ASLA.

Team List
Landscape Architecture Firm: Complete Landsculpture LP of Texas - Chris Strempek (Founder / CEO), Santosh George, ASLA, ULI (Lead Landscape Architect / Designer), Natalie Chuprakova, Associate ASLA (Design Associate/CAD/3D), Jorge Burbano (Construction Manager), Robey Canaday (Lighting Installation & Technical Support) Michael Troyer (Installation Project Manager), Javier Ortiz (Irrigation Manager)
Sculpture Design: Laura Walters,
Sculpture Fabricator: Nic Noblique
Priority Signs for Signage: Jessica Burhop
Outdoor Speakers: Zach Valigura for Whitlock
Furniture: David Mass for GLSC.com
Consulting Architects: Roger Heerema AIA, Principal - wharchs.com, Laurel Sieber (PM)
Structural Engineer: Jerry Monk, PE
Clients: Sarah Buckles & Karen Kozemczak, Property Managers @ Prescott Group, Dallas
Client Project Managers / JLL Project Managers:: Jared Madry & Natalie Lyden

As seen in LASN magazine, April 2020.